CIBC CIBC World Markets analyst Jacob Bout continues to see “strong momentum” across almost all end markets for the engineers and design industry with most companies reporting record backlogs.
“We remain constructive on ATRL, STN, and WSP, but ATRL remains our top pick given the valuation gap,” he said in an earnings season preview report released Wenesday.
“While we are seeing some softness on rental and residential construction spaces, we prefer FTT over TIH given the valuation gap and strong outlook in Chile for new equipment in 2025 and product support growth in 2026. We are lowering 2024 estimates for AFN given tougher U.S./Brazil Farm environment, but long-term fundamentals remain. ARE should be a much cleaner story within the next 12 months, displaying strong underlying margin performance and backlog levels that could potentially double.”
Mr. Bout made a trio of target price adjustments:
- Aecon Group Inc. ( “outperformer”) to $25 from $22. The average on the Street is $23.09.
- Ag Growth International Inc. (“outperformer”) to $75 from $78. Average: $78.13.
- Finning International Inc. (“outperformer”) to $50 from $49. Average: $49.44.
For top pick AtkinsRalis Group Inc., he reiterated an “outperformer” rating and $70 target.